


Until the end

by Arwen_Evenstar



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Anger, Angst, Battle, F/M, Fluff, Jealousy, Love, Sacrifice, Smut, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 12:20:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14472627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arwen_Evenstar/pseuds/Arwen_Evenstar
Summary: The Resistance is rescuing refugees trapped within the canyons of a mining planet. Their only escape: a tunnel seething with stormtroopers ordered to apprehend Ben Solo.Rey and Ben must fight a way through.





	Until the end

She was momentarily disoriented. A high pitched noise in her ears was all the sound that reached her. Shaking her head a bit,she felt her face wet and warm. It took her a minute to realize that her brow was split, the blood trailing down her face and dripping onto her neck. Around her there was confusion and mayhem. Bodies covered the large path that led to the canyon bellow. Friends and foes. Some were still alive, others barely.

A large shadow went over her head and she saw a black cruiser cross at great speed, with an X-Wing on its tail, firing mercilessly. Her gaze followed the ships down into the canyon, where they disappeared. Something out of the corner of her eye, to her right. It was Finn, already standing, hands gripping a vibro ax, glowing white with electricity; he was panting, and there was something wrong with his leg. Two stormtroopers were surrounding him, getting ready to attack. 

Rey tried to get up, but her chest was hurting, it was difficult to breathe. She tried to focus, build her strength, tapp into the Force. Slowly, the buzz subsided, and she was able to move, reaching for the saber that had been thrown off her hand when the mortar exploded in front of her. There was a blaster still clinging to a stormtroopers hand nearby; she looked ahead, to Finn, who was trying to fence off the troopers, waving the ax like a maniac. The troopers obviously did not have weapons other than standard control batons.

Rey quickly took the blaster and aimed, still shaking. The first shot missed one of the troopers, but it was enough for them to turn, so she could fire the second shot, right in his head. Finn took the opportunity and with a shout - from the pain in his right leg, she could see that now - struck the ax in a diagonal motion, and a splash of blood sprayed him from head to toe. 

Rey looked around her, to the bodies spread across the grey mud, covering the craters the mortars had left when they started falling from the Order’s bomber. Finn limped towards her, and they embraced, relief washing over them.

“Are you ok?” Finn asked, motioning to her face. The words still sounded muffled, like she was underwater. She nodded and looked at his leg. There was a gash from his hip that curved to the middle of his thigh. “Yeah, I know. Think it will leave a cool scar like Ben’s?”

Ben. Rey’s eyes opened wide and she looked to the canyon. She immediately pulled the string, their connection through the Force, felling a tug in response and a coolness washing over her. “He’s alive” she said, tense “but its not looking good”.

“Think they were able to get to the ships?”

Rey looked ahead, hearing the blaster fire echoing through the stone and crystal walls. How deep did that thing go? How far? Suddenly, there was a high pitched sound rising from behind them, and Rey instinctively reached for the saber, igniting it and shielding Finn. The approaching ship raised the steam off from the wet mud. It was the Falcon. 

The ramp came down and Connix emerged from inside, blaster ready. Rose was shouting, and Rey could hear Chewie as well, blurting from the cockpit. 

“Get in, quick!”

Rey looked at the wounded, some were raising their hands, asking for help. “We have to do something!” Connix reached for her belt and removed two sticks that she broke and tossed to the ground. They were flashing. “These will guide the cleaning crew, they will be here shortly. The troopers are concentrating ahead, towards the transporters. We need to go!”

Finn pushed Rey towards the ramp, with Connix blasting at scattered troopers that, despite injured, were now regaining their senses and battling on. For what? Rey wondered. No one from the Order would come to their aid, but still they fought. 

They bordered the Falcon just as Chewie brought up the ramp and maneuvered to starboard, in the direction of the canyon. Connix was left securing Finn and administering first aid, while Rose shouted from the cockpit “Finn! Tell me you are ok, please, I am going crazy!” 

Rey approached the deck and signaled Rose “He is ok, Connix is taking care of him.” Rose pursed her lips. She had never been completely ok with Rey and Finn’s friendship. The Jedi was a constant shadow in the back of her mind. Finn always prized their friendship above all else; it had even been enough to accept Ben.

“Chewie, what is the status?” The wookie bellowed, while maneuvering the Falcon between the tight walls of the canyon. He looked at her and paused, grunting. “I am ok, its nothing. How did they find us?”

Rose finished hailing the sweeping crew and turned to Rey. “Isn’t it obvious? Someone told them.” The hint was clear. Rey felt a dark corner of her soul coiling, like a snake reading to bite. She pushed that feeling aside. Chewie shot an angry look at the mechanic - he had also understood it.

The wookie squeezed the controls, focusing on the path ahead. When Rey had brought Ben in, bleeding and barely alive, his first instinct had been to open the Falcon’s door and throw him out into space. The pain of losing Han was still too raw. But then...he saw how Rey care and tended him, never leaving his side. She would recount their escape, how he had used the Force on the Finalizer’s blasters, trying to keep it from bombing Leia’s ship, to no avail. Hux had been suspicious of its Leader and had laid a trap, cornering the CR90 and blasting it with starkiller tech, shot from a nearby moon base. 

Rey would recount the story, tears streaming, looking at her empty hands. How he had called for his mother through the Force, how he had screamed when he felt all his effort had meant nothing, how he madly fought Hux’s Praetorians, sustaining injury after injury until no one was left standing. That was the brave, stubborn, passionate boy Chewbacca knew. Not the man that had killed his best friend. He would defend the boy and the girl from harm.

“There they are!” Rey said, pointing to a clearer ahead. There was blaster fire ricocheting the walls. Rose reached for Chewies’ shoulder, dreading the moment they turned that corner. Suddenly, Poe’s voice screamed through the com “Chewie! Hold your position! Do not break to the plateau, don’t fire or the cave will collapse on top of them!!!! “

Chewie bellowed. Rey and Rose grabbed the armchairs, sensing the break coming. Rey had sense to yell “Hold on to something back there!” while Chewie reversed the engines at full blast and was able to move the Falcon upward, avoiding the corner, but smashing its underbelly onto the wall of the corridor. Poe was still screaming through the speakers “There is only two X-Wings down there, they are scattering the tie fighters away and are moving for the ATs. We can’t break the cannons surrounding the exit zone. You have to deal with the troopers lines on the ground - you have to give the refugees a way to get to the ships!” 

“Poe, where’s Ben?” Rey shouted. Poe didn’t answer, just silence and statics. “Poe?” Rey sensed his hesitation. “He’s down there Rey. They are between rock and a hard place. The terrain provides some cover, but they can’t back down the canyon again or it will be a slaughter.”

And then he went silent. “Poe? Poe!” Rey looked at Rose “I am hailing, he’s not answering.” Chewie bellowed, positioning the ship sideways on a crevice in the wall of the canyon, allowing them a view from the entryway. Rey kicked the chair, frustrated.

“Can we provide cover? Enough so that they can run into the entryway leading to the ships?” Connix shouted from the back.”Too risky, the cave may collapse even with the Falcon’s vibration” Rose looked at the ominous purple rock, the crystal spikes, and then at Rey “We need to take a closer look.”

Rey understood what she meant. Ben was getting anxious, feeling her near and not knowing where she was. He was pulling, wanting, pouring himself into the connection. Rey closed her eyes and focused, following the thread, slowly, down the tunnel, over the rock, beyond the curve and into the plateau.

Rebels and refugees where huddled together behind a trench, close to the wall. Someone was blurting orders into a com. Rey turned her eyes to the space beyond them. An entryway into a tunnel, heavily guarded by stromtroopers, preventing them to get to their escape. It was a standstill. She looked to her right and up to a long, narrow, slit of rock impossible for the Falcon to push through without the ceiling collapsing. They couldn’t backtrack, not with AT ATs moving into that cursed labyrinth.

She turned to the left, following the thread, into the trench, into the confusion of injured refugees, the remains of the rebel party, until the thread laid at his feet. She raised her gaze into his own, deep and dark, staring back. Relief, anguish, fear...and something else she couldn’t quite make out entered and swirled inside her, nestling in the pit of her stomach.

“ _I’m coming_ ” she mouthed, silently. He looked to his left. “ _Can you see it?_ ” she heard him saying in her head. Rey followed his gaze to the wall of the cave. After a time she started noticing the patterns of the crystals, how they seemed to follow a path, across the wall, over the entrance where the stormtroopers were stationed. A small cave, a drop. Rey looked at Ben and he nodded.

In a blink she was back in her seat within the Falcon. Chewie and Connix were staring at her, expectant. She looked at the wall in front of them and looked for the pattern of jabbed rocks. Sure enough, just before the curve, there it was, high enough for someone to pass concealed.

“I know what we need to do. Me and Ben are going to scale the wall and drop behind the troopers. We will open the path for them to push through the tunnel. You will fall behind them Chewie, and blast your way out, give them cover from outside.”

Chewie bellowed - it was dangerous, if they hold out until everyone came through, the cave could collapse on top of them, if the timing was off. “I know” she said “We know. There is no alternative.” Rey looked at the wall. “Find me a slit of rock that I can hold on to. I will do the rest.” She got up and went to the back, to check on Finn, while Chewbacca maneuvered the craft.

Finn was sedated, but it was clear that the pain persisted. Bacta was covering his leg. “I think it might be cooler than Ben’s” he said, teeth clenched. Rey smiled “Yes, it can.” Finn smile turned into a firm, set chin, looking at her. “I heard everything. Are you sure?” Rey gently placed her hand on her friend’s face. He was hot and clammy to the touch. Rey frowned and looked at the wound. It was still seeping. “I need to get you out of here. All of you. The best shot are those hidden freighters. If they can get to them, and Poe is able to hold those cannons away, maybe we can leave this forsaken planet.”

Finn reached for her hand and her face. Slowly, they touched foreheads. “My friend. Comme back to us.” Rey closed her eyes and she gently pushed her Force through their connection. Finn felt it seeping through his brow, washing his pain away, drowsing him, making him slip into unconsciousness. Gently, Rey placed his head on the pillow. “We will meet again Finn. I am sure.” she whispered, as she got up.

“May the Force be with you” a voice said, behind her. Rey turned and Rose was at the entry, looking at them. She pushed a button and the back door opened. A cold , humid draft swept the bay. Nighttime was setting in. Rey nodded, resolute, and turned to the entry, grabbing her lightsaber and securing it to her belt. She placed one foot on the walkway, eyeing the crevice in front of her - there was a small landing she could step into.

She jumped and landed safely. Immediately she heard Chewie bellowing behind her, a sad and long call, as the door shut. Rey winced at the sound.The Falcon hovered away from the wall and maneuvered to the depths of the canyon, waiting silent for a signal.

Rey centered herself, tugging the thread of the Force, to him, to Ben. He tugged back. He was moving. Rey opened her eyes and looked at the wall on her left. “You can do this Jedi.”

_____

It was a painful climb, under the cover of darkness, she couldn’t see well the path ahead. The crystals ominous purple glow was the only thing keeping her from missing a step. That, and the thread - she could see it, glowing on her right as she hugged the wall in front of her. She held onto it, her lifeline.

When her arms and legs were already trembling, she felt a tug in her belly and a strong pull. Suddenly, it was if she became as light as a feather and was almost floating against the wall. “Ben” she whispered. He had already reached the small cave and was using the Force to help her. She looked down bellow, and could see the faint light coming from the stormtroopers armour. They knew the only exit was theirs. They knew the AT ATs were coming. 

When she reached the entry to the cave, it was only a narrow slit in the rock, she had to shimmy through it, feeling her legs and arms scraping against the crystals. She yelped, in pain, when one jabbed her calf and immediately she felt the blood dripping down her leg. Finally, she was able to reach the opening.

“Ben” she whispered. She couldn’t see him properly, but his presence radiated inside the small concave. “ _Don’t talk”_ she heard him in her head “ _They might hear it. We are not that far. Look”_ Rey focused and used the Force to guide her - there was the thread, coiling into the front of the cave. She followed it, right to the edge. Bellow, a fluorescent glow denounced the presence of the troopers, who were doing maneuvers. It was a long drop.

“ _We have to wait until there is enough light_ ” he echoed in her mind “ _and hope that the AT ATs are slowed down by that terrain_ ”. He smelled of mud, blood and sweat. He smelled free, despite of being in such dire situation. A rush of warmth went through her, and she smiled. “ _Are you sensing my thoughts?_ ”, she silently asked. A small chuckle, like a smirk, echoed low in the chamber. “ _I can’t see you. I can only feel you._ ”

Somehow, that made her feel liquid inside. She stretched out her hand, towards the direction of the thread. His hand reached out and grabbed her like lightning. It was like someone sparked a light and all the weariness was pushed away in a second. She heard him exhaling deeply, like he had been holding his breath for too long. His fingers laced hers and he pulled. The heat radiating from him was a clear contrast to the coldness of the cave. She could hear his heartbeat, feel his breath, tinged with a metal scent.

_“I felt your panic. Then silence_.” Rey rested her forehead on his chest, and sensed his arms making their way around her, holding her in place, afraid she might move or break away. “ _I don’t remember much what happened next. I remember somebody shouting, blood...lots of it_ ”. She remembered the corpses of the stormtroopers on the plateau. Rey pulled him, and it felt like the darkness itself was embracing them and it was peaceful. “ _And then I felt you”_ and, once again, that coolness invaded her, the relief he had felt. 

_“I am sorry that I made you do this. It was too soon. And now...”_ she started. 

Ben lowered his face so that his lips were right by her ear. Softly, he whispered “There isn’t any other place where I would rather be”. 

Rey trembled at the sound of his voice, at the closeness of his lips. Something swam in the dark, in front of her, two bodies in rhythmic motion, entwined in each other, glowing in sweat and in the rush of the moment. The thoughts of their first time together, a moment stolen the night before the fight. “Too brief, I wanted you so much” he whispered, as his hands trailed down towards her lower back. Rey could feel the agony and the tightness in his voice. “I am afraid. That I am not there. That I don’t have time...”

Rey knew what he ment. She motioned her hand over his face, pulling it towards her. She felt his nose, brushing hers slightly. She ran her thumbs over his lips and felt scabs and dried blood. Her index finger felt his scar and caressed it. She whispered back to his lips “Don’t be afraid. I feel it too”. 

Rey felt a rush of warm over her. The words that he once had spoken were being returned in such a different, unexpected way. He reached to her then, felt her opening her lips under his, feeling the dust, the staleness and the desire. She was eager for his cracked lips and dried tongue just the same. Her hands grabbed his vest, like she wanted to rip it off in one sitting. Ben trailed her neck and untied the last nots that bound her hair, feeling the locks flowing through his fingers, like velvet. His tongue traced her ear lobe, running down the side of her neck. His chest rumbled, enjoying the taste of her sweat.

 

“ _Ben_ ” she whispered through the bond “ _we have time”_. He dug his fingers in her back in response, pulling her down to the floor of the cavern. As their eyes adjusted to the dim light coming from the troopers bellow, they could figure out the outline of their shapes, sinuous and dark like the air surrounding them. 

“ _Use our bond. Let it guide you_ ”, he pleaded, _“Rey”_

She searched for the belt and feeling he metal casp, unbuckled it. His hands brushed at her tunic, letting it fall down her shoulders. She removed her pants and hissed - the cut in her calf was open again. “ _You are hurt_ ” Ben moved his hand over her leg, sensing the damage and wrapping his hand around it. “ _It's nothing_ ” she replied.

Ben took a long breath and exhaled. And then Rey felt exhilaration and for a moment she thought that a glow surrounded them both, and the thread that binds them had become a bandage over her leg. Red as her blood. “There” Rey felt the calf - the wound had stopped bleeding...was it closing?

She felt his hands move up her legs, her thighs, her buttocks. She could feel her sore muscles unknotting, her soul being replenished. Why had she resisted him for so long? His breath was becoming more ragged, primal. She felt him kiss her collarbone, trailing down. Finding her nipple, he skillfully licked it as ripples of pleasure passed from Rey to him. His arousal was potent and Rey couldn’t help give into it.

He moved his hands, a finger trailing down her mound, into her folds, wet, into her. “ _Ben_ ” she moaned through the bond. She felt his breath, almost panting, against her chest. “You can take whatever you want from me. I am yours, until the end” he whispered. A surge of fury took her, as she pushed his vest aside and raked his chest with her nails, grinding against him, pushing her mouth into his, taking what was hers by right.

Her hand reached for his groin, and closed around his sex: oh, how ready he was! Rey felt the temptation crossing his mind of taking her suddenly, like in their first time. _“No”_ she commanded through their bond. Immediately he fell quiet, expectant, as she moved on top of him and sheathed herself, absorbing him completely, in a decadent, bittersweet, slow motion. She covered his mouth, muffling their moans and gasps, biting that deliciously plump lower lip.

“Move with me” she whispered into his mouth. Placing his hands on her hips, he complied, moving slowly at first, adjusting his rhythm to hers. Rey felt his desire coiling, as hers was. He ran his hand over her chest, toying with her nipple, and then over her stomach. Finally, his finger nestled on her most tender spot and that was enough to throw her into a frenzy. Her pace quickened, as she hugged him and moaned into his ear. “Ben...I’m...please”. He hissed in her hear “Together”. He grabbed her hips and slammed into her, violently - one...harder, tighter...two...so wet and slippery...three.

The cave exploded into a myriad of lights that danced before them, reflected in the fine mist that covered their bodies. They felt replenished, as their breathing slowly came down, as he helped her dress, as he sat against the wall of the cave and she nestled into his chest. They were alive.

“ _Thank you_.” Rey whispered through the bond. Ben was silent, and hesitant. He opted to embrace her, pulling his cape over them and rubbing her back. No more words were necessary.

________

Dawn came with a bang.

Rey jumped up and was momentarily disoriented. Ben grabbed her arm and pulled her close, since they were almost at the edge of the cave.

“What is happening?” 

“They are here, the ATs. Its now or never.”

“The wall will collapse on top of them - the Falcon cannot hold the ATs that long”

Ben peered into the tunnel below - the place was crawling with troopers, getting prompted to break into the plateau, arms ready. Rey heard orders being bellowed.

“The Supreme Leader wants Solo alive, remember! Shoot the others, it will spread his attention”

Rey turned to him. “We have to break their lines, surprise them now, make the tunnel access free”

Another explosion. The ground shook, and there were screams coming from afar.

Rey looked at Ben. He was wearing the most beautiful and terrifying smile, his eyes were open wide, pupils dilated. It was the smile of a predator, basking in the prey in front of him. He slowly turned to her, nodding towards the back of the cave. “I will push and guide you”.

Rey understood. He meant to provide her with impulse and use the Force to make sure she landed safely before going forward himself. It was the only thing they could do. Rey looked at the troopers bellow. They had fought Praetorians together, they could do this. They would support each other. 

She took two steps towards him and, grabbing his face with both hands, kissed him fiercely. He returned it, matching her intensity. Her eyes were moist and her lips trembled. He set his jaw and squeezed her arms, for motivation “You can do this”.

Rey went for the back of the cave and ignited her saber. Ben looked at her, in awe. He swallowed hard and words were whispered through the bond. Words that he had kept being spoken for too long. Rey answered “I know”.

He lunged his right leg forward, stretching his arms ready to push her. He smiled and winked at her. In that moment, he was more Han Solo than he had ever been. Rey smiled brilliantly, as a tear ran down her cheek. 

She ran as fast as she could, never breaking eye contact with him. A foot reached for his leg, his hands grabbed her waist, pushing her over his head in one fluid motion. She flipped up and over him, forward into the drop. She motioned her saber in an elegant curve over her head towards the back, where she catched the hilt with her other hand. She thrusted it out forward over her head, as she came down the troopers with a wild, guttural scream, thrashing five in one swift swing of the saber.

Ben observed from above. He had never felt more proud in his life. They would survive this, he knew it.

“I will love you until the end” he whispered to the bond, before jumping forward.

**Author's Note:**

> Written as part of the Reylo Fanfic Recs 'Rewrite the Stars Fest' for the prompt "Love on the Battlefield" given by Beikeweike
> 
> (a gift to Beikeweike!)
> 
> Quote: Don't be afraid. I feel it too.


End file.
